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Londoners love a market. You might come to the city assuming the bustling, built-up centre doesn’t have room for them, but you’d be wrong – within 20 minutes’ walk of our door you’ll find markets tucked under bridges, filling quaint churchyards and hiding behind world-renowned concert halls. There’s plenty of variety there too: on our list are second-hand books, amazing fresh food, unique antiques and even fossils. Whether you make a special trip or drop by between other activities, they’re guaranteed to brighten your day.

Jubilee Market at Covent Garden

Most visitors to Covent Garden stick to the tame – and perfectly nice – shops and stalls of Apple Market, in the central Piazza building. But head to the south side of the square and you’ll find a slightly more unpredictable set of stalls. Jubilee Market is the covered area between the London Transport Museum and Southampton Street, and while the square-facing retailers can seem a little tacky – particularly at weekends – you’ll find an eclectic mix of antiques, vintage clothing and crafts if you venture further inside. It’s open daily, and stalls vary throughout the week.

Address: 1 Tavistock St, London WC2E 8BD

Walking time: 2 minutes

Look out for:

Exeter Street, site of the old Exeter House (demolished 1676), Exeter Exchange (demolished 1892) and Exeter Hall (demolished 1907)

Tavistock Street was a fashionable shopping street in the Bedford estate in the 18th Century, but fell into decline in the 19th

Covent Garden Market

South Bank Centre Book Market

This gem has been beneath Waterloo Bridge for years, but little has changed: books are still displayed spine-up on a series of no-nonsense trestle tables, with the bigger hardbacks face-up in the middle. Punters are still trusted to browse freely – so much so that when you do find something you like it can be difficult to work out who you have to pay. Stock is 100% second hand and vintage, and often very keenly priced, though you’ll pay more for some of the more desirable pieces (there’s usually a small selection of first editions). With antique prints available too and the BFI bar just feet away, it’s easy to lose a few hours here. Open daily.

Address: Beneath Waterloo Bridge (south side)

Walking time: 7 minutes

Look out for:

Exeter Street (see above)

The Savoy, site of the old Savoy Palace, London residence of the Lancasters

Aldwych, which derives from the Old English for ‘old trading town’ – the ancient Anglo-Saxon town Ludenwic stood here centuries ago

Somerset House

Waterloo Bridge

Real Food Market

Londoners over a certain age remember when the patch behind the Royal Festival Hall was a bald expanse of concrete whose only purpose was to be walked across. That’s still the case from Monday to Thursday, but come Friday it transforms into the Real Food Market, a lip-smacking mix of street food stalls and produce sellers. With everything from gourmet hot-dogs to organic salad boxes to small-batch jams and chutneys, you can grab lunch on the go, shop for a picnic or just wander around filling up on free samples. It runs until 8pm on Friday and Saturday, and until 6pm on Sunday.

If you’re staying with us in May, you might catch this up-and-coming ‘artists and makers’ event on Dean Street. Launched in 2012, it brings together independent creatives with stuff to sell – ceramics, textiles, jewellery, you name it – with small food producers, entertainers and musicians to create a buzzing mini-festival in the heart of Soho. The concept has proved popular so far: apparently 10,000 people passed through in 2012, prompting organisers to scale things up for 2013. We await the next installment with bated breath…

Address: Dean Street (annual, check cityshowcasemarkets.com)

Walking time: 13 minutes

Look out for:

Bedford Street and Southampton street, built on the site of Bedford House (demolished 1705) and the subsequent Bedford Estate

Garrick Street, named after actor David Garrick (1717 – 1779). The Garrick Club was founded in 1831 and still has premises here

Leicester Square and Chinatown

Piccadilly Market

It may be small, but this underappreciated market packs plenty of charm and offers a welcome escape from the chaos of Piccadilly Circus. Held in the front yard of a Christopher Wren-designed church, it has a weekly roster – food stalls dominate on Monday, antiques on Tuesday and general arts and crafts from Wednesday to Saturday. In the past we’ve spotted homemade kaleidescopes, handmade printing blocks, vintage nautical equipment, genuine fossils and much more – this is a friendly, well-located market that punches well above its weight.

Address: 197 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LL

Walking time: 17 minutes

Look out for:

Zimbabwe House, designed by key London Underground architect Charles Holden

William IV Street, created in 1831 and named after the then king. His reign saw considerable change in the layout of Covent Garden

Leicester Square, created when the Earl of Leicester bought and built on the land in the 17th Century